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3101 Clifton Avenue,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45220
513-487-3055
fax: 513-221-1842
chhe@huc.edu
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Ilan
Ramon
Ilan
Ramon was born in Israel in 1954. He graduated at the top
of his high school class, and became an ace pilot in the Israeli
Air Force. Ilan married Rona, and together they had four children.
In 1988, Ilan was chosen to become Israel's first astronaut.
He trained for many years, and finally, in 2003, he departed
for space on the Columbia shuttle, Mission STS-107.
Ilan decided
that he wanted to take some special objects with him into
space. Although he was not a very observant Jew, Ilan hoped
to use his unique position in space to teach the world about
Judaism, the Jewish State, and the Holocaust.
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These are
the objects that Ilan chose to take with him into space:
1. A mezuzah
2. A Kiddush cup
3. A menorah
4. A pocket-sized version of the Bible on microfiche film
5. A copy of the Book of Psalms
6. The logo of Tel Aviv University
7. The emblem of the Israeli Air Force
8. Popular Hebrew music
9. A copy of Tefillat Haderech, the Jewish traveler's prayer
10. A handful of soil from Israel
11. An Israeli flag
12. A coin minted in Jerusalem in the year 69 C.E.
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As Ilan
Ramon prepared for space exploration, he offered a new, modern
challenge for Judaism:
How to observe Shabbat in space?
Ilan was excited by this possibility, but it posed some problems.
Since Shabbat occurs every seven days from sundown to sundown,
Ilan figured that in his orbit in space he'd have to observe
it every ten and a half hours! He also calculated that following
the Jewish calendar in space would bring Rosh Hashanah every
20 days.
In consultation
with rabbis, Ilan decided to mark Shabbat in space according
to when it began and ended on Houston time, the point of departure
of the Columbia space shuttle. Ilan spent three weeks in space,
which included three Shabbatot. He became famous for
reciting the blessing over the wine with his crewmates, holding
a Kiddush cup up for the camera.
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Questions:
- If you were
the first Jewish astronaut, and you wanted to show the world objects
that represented Judaism and the Jewish people, what objects would
you choose? Why?
- Ilan did
not often observe Shabbat in Israel. What do you think motivated
him to try to keep Shabbat when he was so far from home?
- Ilan Ramon
wore his Judaism openly and proudly. What are some things that
you can do in public-or you already do-that reflect your Jewish
pride?
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